Danger on a

Silent Night

BOOK 12

MARIANNE HERING • NA NCY I . S ANDERS

CREATIVE DIRECTIO N B Y PAUL McC USK ER

ILL USTRATED BY DAV ID HOHN

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY • ADVENTURES IN ODYS SEY

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLIS HERS, INC. • CAROL S TREAM, ILLINOIS

Danger on a Silent Night

© 2013 Focus on the Family.

ISBN: 978-1-58997-739-6

A Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188

Focus on the Family and Adventures in Odyssey, and the accompanying logos and designs, are federally registered

trademarks, and The Imagination Station is a federally registered trademark of Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs,

CO 80920.

TYNDALE and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

(www.zondervan.com).

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any

means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of Focus on the

Family.

With the exception of known historical figures, all characters are the product of the authors’ imaginations.

Cover design by Michael Heath | Magnus Creative

Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this book is available by contacting the Library of Congress at

http://www.loc.gov/help/contact-general.html.

Printed in the United States of America

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For manufacturing information regarding this product, please

call 1-800-323-9400.

To Arman and Elham,

Just as the wise men did, you started your journey

in Persia. Then, oh glorious day! You found your Savior, the King of the Jews. May

God continue to bless

you with the joy of His presence as you share the

good news with others!

—NIS

Contents

1 Present Problems 1

2 Magic! 10

3 The Palace 19

4 The Prince 31

5 Three Wise Men? 40

6 Only One King 49

7 Simeon 57

8 The Lion of Judah 68

9 Herod’s Lies 72

10 The Secret Meeting 82

11 Footsteps 87

12 The Baby Jesus 101

13 Trapped! 115

14 The Vision 121

15 The Workshop 128

Questions About the Wise Men 136

Chapter 1

Present Problems

Patrick’s boots crunched in the snow on the sidewalk. He was on

his way to Whit’s End. His cousin Beth walked beside him.

Patrick’s nose felt frozen. He clutched a small gift bag in his

hand. It had a big red bow on it.

“I still think your decision is weird,” Patrick said to Beth.

Beth shook her head. “Mr. Whittaker will understand.”

“But I don’t understand,” Patrick said. His words turned into little

clouds around his mouth. “I’m bringing him a present. But you’re

going to tell him that you’re not giving any presents this year. To

anyone.”

Beth frowned. “You left out the reason why I’m not giving

presents. It’s because I’m saving my money to give to the poor.” She

said the last part in a dramatic voice.

Patrick opened the door to Whit’s End. The bell on the door

jingled as he stepped inside. Beth followed close behind.

Mr. Whittaker stood behind the counter. He was filling a mug

with hot cocoa. He looked up and smiled. “Merry Christmas!” he

said.

“Merry Christmas!” Patrick and Beth said together.

Patrick walked to the counter and held out the bag to Whit. “My

mom baked these for you,” he said.

Whit took the bag and looked inside. He closed his eyes and

sniffed deeply. “I love gingerbread cookies. Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Patrick said. He glanced over at Beth.

Beth looked away.

“Do you mind if I share these?” Whit asked Patrick. He put the

gift on a shelf behind him. “If I eat them all myself, I’ll gain weight.

Then I might have to ask for a new belt for Christmas.”

“Sure,” Patrick said. “They’re yours. You can do whatever you

want with them.”

The cousins took off their mittens and sat at the counter.

Whit busied himself with more mugs of hot chocolate. “Are both

of you ready for Christmas?” he asked them.

“Almost,” Patrick said.

“I am,” said Beth.

Whit raised his eyebrows. “You’ve already done all your

Christmas shopping?” he asked her.

Patrick looked at Beth to see how she would reply.

“I’m not shopping for Christmas this year,” Beth said. “I’m not

giving gifts.”

“Oh?” Whit said.

Beth lifted her chin proudly. “I’m giving my money to needy

families,” she said.

Whit looked impressed. “Well, that’s a sacrificial thing to do,” he

said.

“She didn’t say she wouldn’t take any gifts,” Patrick said in a

sharp tone. “She said she isn’t giving any.”

“I’m not asking for any gifts this year. I’m planning to tell my

family and friends not to give me anything” said Beth. She frowned

at Patrick. “I don’t want any money spent on me. It should go to the

poor instead.”

Patrick looked at Whit. “Help me, Mr. Whittaker,” he said. “What’s

it going to be like with no Christmas presents under the tree? It’s

crazy.”

Whit rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You don’t always have to buy

gifts,” he said and then turned to Beth. “You could make something

by hand—like decorate a picture frame or knit a scarf.”

“I would still have to buy the supplies,” Beth said.

Patrick put his face in his hands and groaned. “You can’t have

Christmas without presents. It’s . . . it’s . . . tradition.”

“It wasn’t always tradition,” Beth said. Then she looked doubtful

and asked Whit, “Was it?”

Whit put the mugs of hot chocolate on a tray. “Let me deliver

these drinks. Then I’ll show you the answer,” he said.

“Show us?” Patrick asked. Then he realized what Whit was

saying. “An Imagination Station adventure?”

Whit chuckled as he walked away with the tray.

Patrick looked at Beth. Beth seemed excited for a second. Then

her expression changed to serious. “This won’t change anything,”

she said firmly.

“Are you sure about that?” Patrick asked.

“You’ll see,” Beth said.

[hiatus]

Whit led the cousins down a set of stairs to his basement

workshop. They crossed the room to a large machine. It looked like

the front of a helicopter. The Imagination Station! Patrick patted its

side and felt the cool metal.

The Imagination Station was one of Whit’s inventions. It was kind

of like a time machine. It let kids experience history for themselves.

Whit pushed a button, and the door slid open. The cousins

climbed inside and sat in the seats.

Whit pushed several keys on the machine’s control panel. The

Imagination Station started to hum. Lights flashed on and off.

“I hope you enjoy yourselves,” Whit said.

“What will this tell me about giving gifts?” Beth asked.

Whit smiled and waved. “Push the red button when you’re ready,”

he said. The doors slid closed.

Patrick reached out and pushed the red button.

The Imagination Station started to shake. It seemed to move

forward. Then it rumbled. Then it whirred.

Beth gasped.

Patrick felt the machine speed up. It zoomed along through a kind

of tunnel. The tunnel seemed to get smaller and smaller.

Suddenly everything went black.

Chapter 2

Magic!

Patrick felt a warm glow on his face. His nose wasn’t cold anymore.

He blinked at the sun. Then he looked around. He was sitting on a

large rock. The ground was sandy at his feet.

The Imagination Station faded away.

I forgot to ask Mr. Whittaker where we were going, he thought.

Patrick wondered what kind of clothes he was wearing. He always

found himself in different clothes in the Imagination Station. Maybe

they’d give him a clue. He looked down. He was wearing thick robes

with colorful embroidery. A heavy gold necklace hung around his

neck.

He noticed a hat on his head. Patrick reached up and felt cloth. A

wide strip of material was twisted like a cinnamon roll. A turban, he

thought. He touched a large jewel attached to the front of it. It was

about the size of a baseball.

He searched his pockets. Whit often gave him a small gift to use

in each adventure. But his pockets were empty. Did Mr. Whittaker

forget to give me something? he wondered.

He stood up and looked around. On Patrick’s left was a large open

field of sand. On his right stood a row of tall, thick bushes. A few

were as tall as a man. Beth was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly he heard voices coming from the other side of the

bushes. They were angry voices.

Uh-oh, I hope Beth isn’t in trouble already, he thought.

Patrick crept up to the bush. He spread apart some branches and

peeked through the opening.

He saw two groups of men. They were standing on opposite sides

of a hole in the ground. Square, flat stones lined the hole.

One group of men wore simple brown robes. A herd of twelve

donkeys was gathered near them. Each donkey carried a large

bundle on its back. The animals looked worn and tired. They only

moved to twitch their ears.

The second group of men wore beautiful robes. Jewels decorated

their clothes. The shiny gems looked like giant candy gumdrops

without the sugar.

More than twenty camels stood around the men. Each camel was

covered with a fancy blanket that looked like a carpet. Each blanket

had dozens of long tassels. Patrick whistled to himself. These men

had money. Lots of it.

The men in brown robes were different. He remembered drawings

he’d seen of trading caravans in the Middle East. The men in brown

robes looked like traders.

The shouting between the two groups grew louder.

One man in a brown robe stepped forward. His fists were

clenched. Then a man from the other group came closer. He pointed

to the hole.

Patrick guessed the hole in the ground was a well. The two groups

seemed to be fighting over it. He scanned the crowds. He was

hoping to spot Beth. But he saw only the men and their animals.

A man from the wealthy-looking group tossed his hands in the

air. He looked disgusted. He shook his head then turned and

walked toward Patrick.

Maybe he’s seen Beth, Patrick thought. He stepped out from

behind the bush as the man approached.

The man looked surprised to see him there.

“Have you seen a girl with brown hair?” Patrick asked.

The man looked at Patrick with an odd expression. He shook his

head. “A girl? No, of course I haven’t,” he said. “We travel only with

men.”

“What about them?” Patrick asked. He pointed to the other group

of men.

“You’ll have to ask them yourself,” the man said.

Patrick looked at the arguing men. “What are they fighting

about?” he asked.

“Our caravan has been traveling for days,” the man said. “Our

camels need water. But the traders say the well is theirs because

they were here first. We said we’d be happy to take the water after

them. But they insist we cannot have any water at all.”

Just then, Patrick heard a man in a brown robe shout. That man

shoved a man from the other group. The other man shoved back. A

few other men began to throw punches. The argument was turning

into a fight.

“Oh no,” the wealthy man said to Patrick.

“What can we do?” Patrick asked.

Suddenly there was a loud ka-pow! and a bright flash of light. A

thick cloud of white smoke exploded next to the bush.

Patrick jumped and stumbled away from the explosion. He

bumped into the wealthy man. The man reached out to steady him.

Several donkeys reared back. The fighting stopped. Both groups

of men turned to see what had happened.

Patrick saw a white cloud of smoke. As the smoke thinned, a

young man stepped forward. It seemed as if he had magically

appeared. He wore a huge gold turban like a snail shell. His robes

were made from shimmery fabric. He looked like a prince.

“Stop fighting and share the water!” he called out. “There is

enough for all!”

Then he raised an arm toward the sky and opened his hand.

There was another ka-pow! and cloud of smoke. The young man

vanished.

The men in brown robes were amazed. Some fell to their knees.

“Magic!” they cried with fear. “They have magic!”